Garment pressing machine



Maya, 1941;

s. H. RAWLINSON E TAL GARMENT PRESSING MACHINE Filed Aug. '5, 1938 4Sheets-Sheet 1 In wen tors George H. Rawlz'nsan Richard A'Bgrvlinaan TI4 By Patented 6, 1941 GARMENT ranssmo. MACHINE George H. Rawlinson andRichard A. Rawlinson,

Portland,

Greg.

Application August 5, 1938, Serial No. 223,251

16 Claims. (o1. 223-57) This invention relates topressing machines and,more particularly, to machines in which upright forms ,or bucks,especially those adapted for use with shirts, coats and the like, willbe moved into position between pressing elements, will be held in suchposition during the pressing operation, and will then be moved but ofsuch position after the pressing operation.

This invention relates more specifically to pressing machines employinga buck such as that described in our pending application, Serial No.201,352, filed April 11, 1938, and is an improvement over. the pressingmachine described in United States Letters Patent No. 2,126,577, issuedAugust 9, 1938,

The object of this invention is to provide an improved machine in whicha plurality of upright bucks may be employed and each buck in turnbrought into proper pressing position.

Another object of this invention is to provide a rotating carriage orturret mounting for the bucks whereby the upright bucks will be broughtinto and out of operative enga ement witli the pressing elements orpress jaws by. rotation of the carriage.

A further object is to provide a pressing machine of the rotatingcarriage type in'which a pair of movable press jaws,'or one movable andone relatively fixed press jaw, may be employed.

A more specific object of this invention is to. provide a machineemploying a pluralityof bucks of the type described incur abovementioned In the drawings: I Fig. l is a perspective .view of oneembodiment of our invention; v

Fig. 2 is a schematic side elevation of a modifled form of ourinvention, with portions of the mechanism omitted for the sake ofclarity;

Fig'. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary transverse section corresponding tothe line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a front elevation, on an enlargedscale, of part of the garment stretching mechanism of Fig. l; f Fig. 5is a corresponding end elevation;

Fig. 6 is atransverse section on the line 6-6 Fig. 7 is a similarsection showing certain part in changed position;

V of the garment form or .Abuck of Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary vertical medial section sisting principally ofspaced standards l0 and co-pending application, Serial No. 201,352, in

which each buck has side-stretching elements and in which theseside-stretching elements will be caused to stretch the side portions'ofthe gar- .ment on the buck simultaneously with the pressing operationthereby insuring, the proper pressing and stretching of the portions ofthegarment beneath the arm holes. 1 I

A still further object of this invention is to provide a pressingmachine of the type indicated in which suitable controls are included sothat movement of the bucks into and out of position between the pressingelements, operation of the pressing elements, and, in particular, thestretching of the side portions of each garment during the pressingoperation, can be easily and properly controlled by a single operator.

The manner in which these objects and other advantages are obtained inour invention will.

be brought out in the following description of preferred embodiments ofour pressing machine, and of certain partsithereof, in which referenceis made to the accompanying drawings.

II and a header I2, is rigidly mounted on a suitable base I3, the frameand .base being preferably hollow metalcastlngs. A rotatable carriage I4is journaled for free rotation on thecylindrical lower end of thetandard I I, the carriage having equally-spacedradial arms l5, l6, andI1. These arms are channel-shaped in cross section and each arm servesas a supporting guide-way for a sliding block 18. A garment .form orbuck II 'is vertically mounted on each block it. The

blocks i8 and their superimposed bucksv I! are normally held at. theouter ends of the carriage arms I5, It, and H by compression springs(not shown) disposed in the said arms. The manner in which the blocks 18are mounted'in the armsis the same as that described in the UnitedStates Letter Patent No. 2,126,577, above mentioned,

to which reference is made. The'bucks it are thus'slidable inwardlytowards the vertical axis of the carriage ll.

A The press element or press jaw 2| is resiliently connected, by meansof interposed rubber blocks or springs 22, to a supporting bracket 23which is rigidly mounted on the standard II, and this pres jaw 2| isprevented from sagging on these resilient connections by ahanger 24which depends from a carriage 25 adapted to roll on suitable waysprovided in the header l2. The other press element or jaw 20 isreciprocably-mounted 'on the standard It by means of a pair of par-'allel shafts 2t slidably disposed in the standard II and secured to apressure plate 2'! firmly attached to the press jaw 20. A hanger 28serves as a rolling support for this press jaw in the same manner ashanger 24. The press jaws 20 and 2| are chambered metal castings havingtheir pressing surfaces shaped to fit the bucks l9, and have inlet andoutlet connections 29 and 30, connected by flexible tubing to a suitablesource of steam supply (not shown).

Any suitable means may be employed for moving the press jaw 20 againstthe buck and pushing the buck against the other press jaw 2i in thepressing operation. We have found it satisfactory to use a conventionalcompressed air thrustor 3| and toggle mechanism 32, one arm of which hasits upper end pivotally mounted in a stationary bracket 33 secured tothe standard l0, and the other arm of which is pivotally attached to thepressure plate 2! secured to thepress jaw 26. A tension spring 3 3connected to the toggle mechanism 32 and to the 'base it causes thepress jaw 20 to return to the retract= ed position shown in Fig. 1 whenthe air pressure is relieved in the compressed air cylinder of thethrustor 3!.

Each of the arms 55, i6, and ii of the carspring 38 normally holds thelatch 35 in its upper position in the housing 3?. The latch may bemanually disengaged from the pin 35 so as to permit rotation of thecarriage it, by means of suitable connection with a pedal it (Figs. 1and 9), located at the operators station, these connections in this caseconsisting of a linkage (ii (Fig. 3) coupled to the latch 36 and to anarm 42 carried on a rock shaft Q3 which has a depending arm 44 pivotallyconnected by a rod 65 to one end of a lever B? fulcrumed at 88 andpivotally attached at its opposite end to the pedal rod ill. The latch36 is, of course, automatically retracted when the pin 35 contacts thearcuate surface thereof during partial roe tation of the carriage it butwhen a buck has been brought into proper pressing position between thepress jaws the latch' immediately locks the carriage against furtherrotation. Various other forms of latch mechanism could of course besubstituted in place of that illustrated and it is not our intention tolimit this latching means to any particular construction.

-While it would be possible for the operator to rotate the carriage M byhand, when stepping on the release pedal 40, we have found it preferableto provide simple mechanical coordinated means for releasing the latchand imparting rotation independently of the operation of the pedal 40,the'pedal 40 therefore being used only when it is desired to rotate thecarriage by hand. A compressed air operated thrustor or jack 5 (Figs. 1and 9) is mounted on a suitable bracketsecured to the base-l3 and isconnected to a source of compressed air by a hose or pipe 48. A valve 49(Fig. 9) is interposed in the air line 48 and is connected to the rod 8|of a pedal 80. The pedal rod 8l (as shown in Figs. 3 and 9) is pivotallyattached to an arm 89 fixed to a shaft riage carrying the bucks i9 is inturn held, when 90 which is threaded through a bearing 9| in alinementwith the shaft 43, the adjacent ends of shafts 43 and 90 terminating ina jaw clutch 92. The arrangement is such that arcuate-movement of thearm 89, mused by depressing the pedal 80, advances the shaft 90 in thethreaded bearing 9| and brings the two .elements of the clutch 92. intoengagement thus coupling the shaft 90 to the shaft d3 so that furthermovement of the pedal rod Bi releases the latch 36 and opens the valved9 permitting compressed air to enter the jack 6B. When the compressedair is introduced into the jack Git the ram 53 thereof engages anangular bracket or lug 5! fixed to each of the carriage arms i5, i6, andH, and thus starts rotation of the carriage it so that the next buckwill be swung into position. The ram- Bilis retracted by a tensionspring '52 when the air pressure is relieved by release of the pedal 88.

The bucks i9 used in this machine are preferably of the type shown inthe co-pending application, Serial No. 201,352, and are provided withsuitable collar clamping means HQ (Fig. 1), suitable sleeve supports(not shown), means ill for holding the bottom of the shirt in place, and

- flexible movable'stays 53 (Figs. 1, 4, and 8) vertically disposed ateach side of the buck, the stays being caused to move toward or awayfrom the sides of the buck by the rotation of the shaft 54 through themedium of suitable mechanism within the buck, shown in Fig. 8 and alsodescribed in the co-pending application, Serial No. 201,352. The end ofthe shaft 5% extending into the buck. l9 carries a pinion 55 whichcoasts with sector gears 56 and Eli having attached arms 58 and 59connected to equalizers t9 and 5!, the ends of these equalizers beingpivotally coupled by rods 52 and S3 to the flexible stays 53substantially as shown in Fig. 8. The outer end of the shaft lid isjournaled in a bracket 54 (see Figs. d and 5) which is secured to abracket $55 fastened to the bottom of the buck. Rotation -may beimparted to the shaft tit either manually by means of a hand lever 6t,keyed to the extremity of said shaft, or by means of a pawl lever tiadapted to engage a ratchet wheel S8 secured to shaft 56 adjacent thebracket M. A semicircular brake band 69 tensioned by springs "it heldagainst a fixed shelf angle it exerts sufiicient friction on a pulley itkeyed to the shaft 56 to retain the flexible stays 53 in any positionset by manipulation of the hand lever 56 or pawl lever @i. The pawllever 67 is pivotally carried on a pin it fixed in a yoke i i mountedfor free rotation on the shaft 5 5 and consisting of two parallel platesdisposed on each side of the ratchet wheel 6!, the yoke id normallyresting on a stop 15 (see Figs. 4, 6, and 7) rigid on the bracket 64,and the pawl lever 81 is normally held disengaged from the ratchet wheel88 and in abutment with a stop pin It by a tension spring it connectedto the pawl lever 61 and the yoke it. Thus w provide two means forrotating the shaft 54 and thereby actuating the garment stretching stays53. This is an important feature in our invention. It permits initialtension to be applied to the garment sides by manipulation of the handlever 68 and provides for further tension to be applied during theactual pressing operation by pressure on the pawl lever 81. For applyingsuch pressure on the pawl lever 61 we provide a compressed air thrustoror jack I8 (see Fig. 1), similar to the carriage-rotating jack .6. Thejack 1! is carried on a suitable bracket setomatically controlled by thethrustor II which in turn is actuated by the pedal 84. Referring to Fig.9, a rod 82 connects the pedal 84 with a valve 85 interposed in the airline- 86, leading from a source of compressed "air to the thrustor '81.when compressed air is introduced into the" thruster ii the ram thereof(not shown) is thrust upwardly, and, by virtue of the toggle mechanism82, closes themress jaws, and, at the upper limit of its stroke, permitscompressed air to pass into pipe '18 leading to-the jack 18. The ram 88(Fig; 1) is thus thrustoutwardly into-contact with the lower end of thepawl lever 81. This causes the upper end of lever 61 to engage'one ofthe teeth of the ratchet wheel 68. Further outward travel of the f ram88 moves the pawl lever 61 and yoke ll in an upward arc (see Fig. '7),.and thus rotates the ratchet wheel 68 and shaft 54.: This additionalpartial rotation of shaft 54 causes the flexible stays 53 to be extendedstill further awayfrom the sides of the buck 1'8 and thus providesfurther stretching of. the sides of the garment. The additionalstretching of the sides insures the proper pressingoi. the'side'portions of Sh-8 881,

ment below thearmholes in the manner de scribed in the co-pendingapplication, Serial No.

201,352. It is important, however, that this ad ditional stretching ofthe side portions oi the garment should take 'place after the press jawsare in pressing. engagement with the buck, and it is mos desirable thatthis particular part of they pressing operation be controlledautomatically so 5 that it will-not occur in the pressingv machine untilthe press jaws are in pressing position.

The entire operation of the machine .now is as follows, referring toFig. 1. The operator,- stationed nearthe control pedals, M, 80, and .84,drapes a shirt or similar garment-on a buck 19 in the manner describedin the co-pending application, Serial No. 201,352, and then actuates thehand lever 65 to place initial tension on the side seams of the garment.Next the operator depresses pedalBil whichreleases the latch 86 "andactuates the jack 46 so as to rotate the carriage IE and swing thedraped buck into position between the press jaws 2B and 2|, the latch 88then holding the supporting arm and buck in this location. whichoperates the compressed air thrustor 8|. This moves the press jawagainst the buck and forces the buck against the press jaw and thenactuates the jack 18 which causes the pawl lever 61 to move the flexiblestays 58 outwardly, thus providing the additional desired stretchingduring the pressing operation. Meanwhile the operator' places anothergarment on the buck which has been swung-to position at the operator'sstation.

While we have shown and described our press:

ing machine as controlled by the intermittent operation of the pedals 80and 84, obviously numerous forms of control-devices could be substitutedfor'the pedal controls. It would even be 6 of s r s r in means. carriagelocking possible to have automatic or electrically actuated controlsoperating the latch 86, the jack 88. the compressed air thruster8Landthe jack I8 in properly timed sequence. It is not our intention tolimit our invention to the specific me-' chanical controls illustrated,and described.

In Fig. 1 we have shown the press'jaw 2| .as being resiliently mountedon a standard H but not otherwise movable. However, if desired, themachine could be-made with both press jaws equally Then the operatordepresses pedal 81 and simultaneously movable. Such a modification isillustrated, more or less schematically, in Fig. 2 in which the pressjaws to! and I8! are each reoiprocably carried on .the standards I88 5'and I84 respectively oi the machine irames'.'--".la pair of compressedairthrustors I81 and toggle] mechanisms I08, identical to the compressedair thrustor 8| and toggle mechanism 82,-shownin Fig. 1, (except thatonly one thrustor need have '10 a connecting pipe to the jack 18), inthiscase are operated in unison to close the press'jawsabout aninterposed buck 185 when the buck is.

brought into proper position by rotation ofthe carriage I08. The latchmeans, carriage rot'a'ts '15 means, and garment stretching mechanism;

however, are the same as those in the machineillustrated in Fig. 1. Weclaim:

1." Inc. garment pressing machine, a ca fi se 20 rotatable on a verticalaxis, a plurality of up-;

' right bucks mountedlon said rotatable. -carriage'.

3 a pair of upright pressing jawssupportedabove 'said-carriage'andlocated, respectively,.insideof p a andoutsid'e of the circularpathof'said bucks,

WherebyIupon the rotation of said carriage; said bucks will be'broughtserially into position be tween said pressing jaws. meansforlocking said 1 carriage against further rotation when ,one of saidbucks has been brought into said'position. and means for bringing saidjaws and said positioned'buckinto pressing relationship. 2. In a garmentpressing machine of the char-- ing jawsv and a plurality of uprightbucks movable serially into pressing position between said jaws,

means on each of said bucks for stretching .the sides of a garment onthe buck, manual means 1 for operating said side-stretching means andadditional separate automatic 1 means for further '4() operating saidstretching means after saidfljaws have been brought into pressingengagement with "z the buck.

3. In a garment pressing machine of thecharacter described including a.pair of upright pres'slug-jaws and a plurality oi upright bucks movableserially into pressing position between said'jaws, means for moving .oneof said jaws, means on each'of said bucks for stretching the sides of agarment on the buck, and means controlled by said jaw-moving means forfurther operating said stretching means after said jaws have beenbrought into pressing engagement with the buck.

4; In a garment pressing machine, a rotatable carriage, a pair ofupright pressing jaws supported above "said carriage, one of said jawsbeing 80- riage, means for locking said carriage against furtherrotation. when one of said bucks is positioned between said jaws, meansfor moving said laws and a positioned buck into pressing relationship,and means for-controlling the actuation means and jaw moving means.

5. In a garment pressing machine, a rotatable carriage, a pair ofupright pressing jaws supported for horizontal movement above saidcarriage. a pluralityof upright bucks carried by said carriage adapted,when said carriage is rotated, to be positionedserially between saidpressing .jaws, means for rotating said carriage, means for lockingsaid'carrlage against further rotation "when'one of said bucks ispositioned between said acter described including, a pair of uprightpress-.

7.. In augarrnent pressing machine, pairi of spaced vertical frnaderigid" with sai hub and buck mountings adjacent the ends "f s. ofsaid-arms, said buck mounting fbeingjcharf,

acterized by a spring sustained carriage that j yieldable under;,theinfluence ofrpress'ing' jaw on a buck mounted on the carria e 12; Apressing *machine of i the J character described,'icomprising a base apairoi vertical s beams mounted ingspaced relationship -,on'-'fthe' ibase and opposed pressing jawsoperablymounte' ed on the beams, aturntable mounted ongone of; the beams and rotatable in a plane beneaththe" pressing jaws, and a plurality of buck's mounted on the turntablein position for successive registhe base, a pair fof, opposed press jawsmounted' I on .tliegbeams; means tor;operati sftm"laws-a turntableaxially mounted on on rtne beams to turn in a'plane beneath the aws, anda plurality of bucks mounted 'onf hel I tive registry between theijaws.l n V I,

n a g rme t pres i em in a base, a

turntable for bonse'cw" pair of vertical beam'smade rigid with the basein spaced relationshipj a pair of press'iaws op-'- erativelymounted rewok 'e r ssit pace tween the beams, in opposed relationship,'a turn'-table substantially coaxially mounted onan in termediate portion ofonefofjthe"beams that is rotatable in ,a plane I below the pr ss "lawsand normal to the artis of itsmountin'g, and'a pluralityof pressing.budge, mounted on the turntable .in'" spaced relationship that aremovable uponrotation of said turntable."

intoland out of. registry'with the pressing jaws 4. 9.1]ln a garmentpressing machine, a base, a-

-pairfoi spaced verticaljbeams having their lower ends made rigid with"the base, atensionbeam that embodies a track member made rigid-with therespective tops of the verticalbeams, a press Jaw mounted on eachbeamvinopposed relationship'to the othe'ryjaw, means ior working the jaws andmeans'fo'r, guidingthejawsthat includes a carriage'movable along thetrack ofthe tensionbeam. I

10, I n a pressing' macl'iine, abase,. spacedver'-- tical beams maderigid'with the base at their lower-ends, and a tension member maderigidI with the tops of the beams to define a generally rectangularspaceabove the base, opposed pressing-Jaws that are. respectivelymounted on the vertical beams to engage a pressing buck there- I betweenand react againstthe beams, a tum-' table mountedijor rotation in aplane beneath the jaws, aplu'rality of pressing bucks mounted in spacedrelationshinonfthe turntable to consecutively registerfwith the jaws andmeans in part on the turntable andin part made rigid with the base thatareeflective to define'registration ube-bucks,witb,.t e,;laws.

character described comprising a hub portion,

tration between the jaws. i

13. In a pressing machine, a base,,-a frame superposed on thebase,opposed vertical pressing jaws op'eratively mounted within the frame, aplurality of garment bucks mounted for movemeritihtdandfiout ofyregistrywith the jaws, a turntable :'upon which the-bucks are mounted torotatetherewith, a mounting for saidturntable to position ithorizontallybeneath thejaws, said bucks being yieldingly mounted on saidturntable whereby to enable each buck to accommodate itself to said jawswhen said jaws enclose the buck during the pressing operation.

14.- In a garment pressing machine, a pair of pressing jaws, abuckmovable into and out of pressing position between said jaws, extensiblemembers on said buck for stretching a garment on the buck, means forextending said members,

vmanual means for operating said member-extending means and separateautomatic means in said machine for further operating saidmemberextending means when said jaws are in pressing pressing engagementof the pressing elements a with the form.

16. A garment pressing machine includinga support, a pair of pressingjaws on said support, a movable carriage on said support, expandiblegarment carrying bucks on said carriage, means for mounting said bucksfor lateral movement relative to saidcarriage, means supported entirelyon said bucks and separated from said carriage for expanding said bucks,means for actuating the carriage to move said bucks serially into andout of position between said pressing jaws, I

, and means for efl'ecting movement 01 one o! the v .t n a -r r-ie' rntelaeressinsx ac e of arms extending in uniform radial spacing frompressing jaws against a positioned buck and for effecting lateralmovement of said positioned buck toward the other pressing jaw.

GEORGE H. RAWLINSON. RICHARD A. RAWLINSON.

